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Retired U.S. Air Force Colonel Eugene B. Mechling Jr. stands in the same posture as he did in an old photo, on a F15-K fighter jet during a visit to the Korean Air Force’s 11th Combat Squadron in Daegu on June 5. (Republic of Korea Air Force)

Retired U.S. Air Force Colonel Eugene B. Mechling Jr., who went on 100 sorties during the Korean War, revisited Korea on June 5 after 65 years to commemorate Korean Memorial Day.

He flew 100 times between November 1951 and December 1952. At that time, he earned the nickname “Phoenix” because he returned to base alive even though the tail of his jet was cut off during one mission in November 1952.

“I don't recognize anything here,” said Mechling during his visit to the Republic of Korea Air Force’s 11th Combat Squadron in Daegu on June 5, where he used to serve. “What you’ve done is a splendid and wonderful job.”

At the base, he posed on an F-15K fighter jet in a Republic of Korea Air Force uniform.

Before he left, he cheered the pilots in the squadron by saying, “Go, Air Force!”